Breaking the Bank: How L'Oreal heiress became 1st woman to amass $100 bn fortune

L’Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers was already the richest woman in the world. However, she has achieved a new milestone by becoming the first female to accumulate a staggering fortune of over $100 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This new feat was made possible by the record-breaking $100.2 billion valuation of the shares in the cosmetics empire, which her grandfather started in 1901. Let’s take a closer look. A surge in share price adds a new feather to Meyers’ crown Just ahead of Mukesh Ambani and behind Carlos Slim, who recently became the first person from Latin America to reach the $100 billion mark, Bettencourt Meyers is listed as the 12th richest person in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. With a 35 per cent increase this year, L’Oreal’s stock, based in Paris, is at an all-time high as a result of people continuing to spend lavishly on high-end goods following the pandemic. As a result, Bettencourt Meyers’ personal wealth has increased by about $28 billion. Notably, with about 35 per cent of the $268 billion global firm, the Meyers family is the single largest shareholder. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the 114-year-old beauty group struggled because fewer people purchased makeup and other beauty items while the world was under lockdown. However, in the years that have passed, sales have increased, driving up the share price of the company that owns Maybelline and Garnier. According to business reports, the largest cosmetics company in the world—which also owns Lancome, Prada, and Yves Saint Laurent—reported revenues of almost $42 billion in 2022. Earlier this year, the French company bought Australian brand Aesop in a $2.5 billion purchase, the largest brand acquisition ever. According to Dealogic, the $1.7 billion acquisition of YSL Beaute in 2008 set a previous record. Who is Bettencourt Meyers? Holding the position of vice chair on the L’Oreal board, Bettencourt Meyers carries on the family legacy started in 1909 by her grandpa, Eugene Schueller, a chemist. Both of her sons, Nicholas and Jean-Victor Meyers, work as directors. The 70-year-old businesswoman chooses to live a remarkably quiet life rather than participate in the glitzy social scene that many of the world’s wealthy find appealing. After her mother, Liliane Bettencourt passed away in 2017, Meyers became the only heir to her fortune, though they didn’t always get along. A significant legal dispute involving the family that resulted in a political scandal is documented in the new documentary, L’Affaire Bettencourt. The three-part Netflix documentary explores the family conflict and features recordings made by a butler. Aside from her work at L’Oreal, she is said to be the author of two books: a five-volume Bible study and a genealogy of the Greek gods. She also receives praise for her commitment to practicing the piano for hours every day. Even with her enormous wealth, Bettencourt Meyer is still far behind her husband, Bernard Arnault, who founded the French luxury goods company LVMH. According to Bloomberg’s index, Arnault’s net worth as of Wednesday night was $179.4 billion. Elon Musk is presently ranked as the richest person in the world, according to the ranking, which is updated daily. With inputs from agencies